FTSE 100 manager rakes in profitsShares hit new year-highSmaller rival sees continued outflowsThe latest updates from two big asset management firms show the growing divergence in performance across the sector.Alternative manager Intermediate Capital (ICP) delivered an impressive set of first-half results, with assets and profits up, while rival Ninety One (N91) revealed a drop in both measures ov

Ninety One team buys towards lows of the yearSegro chairman buys more stock after updateInvestors in London and Cape Town asset management firm Ninety One (N91) might want to take a leaf out of management's book given the top team's talent for buying on weakness.Marathon Trust, a vehicle associated with Ninety One chief executive Hendrik Du Toit, finance director Kim McFarland and several other di

Another week, another takeover - this time it is alternative asset manager Gresham House (GHE:AIM), which is being bought by private equity firm Searchlight for £470 million.At £11.05 per share, 63% above the previous closing price and 10% above the all-time high a year ago, the purchase price represents an enterprise value of almost 16 times last year's earnings before interest, tax, depreciati

Deal sees veteran Pease bow outConsolidation gathering paceListed UK firms could be vulnerable to takeoversCompetition for customers and the need for economies of scale are driving another round of consolidation in the UK wealth management industry with the announcement this week of yet another deal.Yesterday it emerged that hedge fund Lansdowne Partners had agreed to acquire equities specialist C

This article attempts to uncover the least favoured stocks in the UK market. The idea is to identify contrarian investment ideas which have the potential for a strong rebound when sentiment improves.Betting against the crowd when they are wrong is a sure-fire way to make money in the stock market, but it's much easier said than done.Picking individual stocks is hard to get right. Even the professi

Stocks in the UK and Europe closed lower on Friday after another weak trading session in the US as investors fretted over rising interest rates among other concerns.The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 index dropped a further 1%, taking its loss for the week to 5% and its loss from the November high to more than 10% signaling it had entered 'correction territory' according to analysts.Investors were

Stocks in the UK and Europe traded lower on Friday after a weak trading session in the US fed through into falls across Asia as investors fretted over rising interest rates among other concerns.The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 index registered further losses, falling 1.3% to take losses from its November peak to 10% signaling it is in 'correction territory' according to analysts.After the close,

Stocks in the UK and Europe opened lower on Friday after a weak trading session in the US fed through into falls across Asia.The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 index registered further losses after falling 1.3% while the small-cap Russell 2000 dropped almost 2%.Adding to investor woes, in aftermarket trading Netflix shares sank 21% after it provided a disappointing outlook and weaker than expected

There are lots of good reasons why investors should have allocations to the FTSE 250, London's high-flying index oriented to mid caps which provides a purer play on the domestic UK economy than the exporter-heavy FTSE 100.The FTSE 250 captures those growth stocks that have come up from the small cap ranks and therefore had a chance to establish themselves. And crucially, it can catch these 'second

UK stocks fell on Friday as investors and the British public were faced with a prolonged lockdown as it continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, and mounting debts.Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was far too early to speculate when current restrictions could be removed and confirmed that the government considered closing its borders to prevent new strains of the virus entering the UK.Also imp

Some of the most notable director deals over the past week have come from the world of finance.Senior bosses at fund management group Ninety One (N91) have shown their faith in the business after buying up around £5 million worth of shares. The asset manager listed in London and Johannesburg in March after demerging from finance giant Investec.NINETY ONE TOP BRASS BUYS INThe asset manager's senio

UK stocks closed higher on Friday as investors held out hope that stimulus measures and vaccines would get the global economy through the Covid-19 crisis, even as cases continued to jump in the US and elsewhere.London's FTSE 100 finished 39.6 points higher, or up 0.63%, at 6,290.3, while the FTSE 250 ended the session up 0.15% at 17,347.90.LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERSMining giant Rio Tinto

UK stocks were in positive territory at lunchtime on Friday as investors held out hope that stimulus measures and vaccines would get the global economy through the Covid-19 crisis, even as cases continued to jump in the US and elsewhere.The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 6,282.84, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.1% at 17,339.2.LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERSMining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) rose 1.